VRAL is currently showcasing Regression 4, Jordy Veenstra’s latest installment in his ongoing monumental investigation of San Andreas. To accompany the screening, we are delighted to present DUSK, a second experimental machinima created with/in Left 4 Dead 2 that evokes the horrors of a post-apocalyptic world.
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Like ONRIDE, Jordy Veenstra’s experimental machinima short DUSK utilizes game assets from Valve’s Left 4 Dead series to vividly capture the haunting atmosphere of a zombie apocalypse. Clocking in at just forty-five seconds, this machinima displays a remarkable level of technical artistry and emotional resonance. The Dutch filmmaker originally conceived of DUSK as a simple technical exercise, but soon realized the potential for a more fully realized artistic work. The resulting film succeeds both as an experiment in pushing the boundaries of machinima as a medium, and as a self-contained narrative that provides commentary on the human condition in dire circumstances.
Visually, DUSK immerses the viewer in a world overrun by zombies through its expert use of Source Filmmaker. The setting itself is instantly recognizable to fans as the finale of Left 4 Dead Dark Carnival campaign, but the moody lighting and haze of smoke and embers transform the familiar truck depot into a hellish landscape. Backlit by flames and the flashing lights of emergency vehicles, the decrepit industrial space takes on a nightmarish quality. When the two staggering zombies enter the frame, they blend in with their surroundings, reduced to anonymous ghouls in a sea of undead. The shadows and silhouette effects reinforce the ambiguity between the living and the living dead, evoking the collapse of civilization itself.
From a technical perspective, Veenstra’s mastery of Source Filmmaker is on full display. The smooth camera movements, use of depth of field, and detailed lighting reveal a deep understanding of cinematic techniques. The sweeping camera zoom from inside the car to a close-up of the zombies creates visual tension and a sense of voyeuristic dread. Veenstra also effectively repurposes game assets like particle effects and audio to heighten the ominous atmosphere. The moans and screams of zombies layered into the soundscape make the setting feel alive despite the lack of visible undead hordes.
Beyond impressive technical execution, DUSK contains deeper metaphorical resonances related to the human condition. The zombies represent humanity reduced to its basest impulses: anonymous, lumbering vessels driven only by hunger. Devoid of personality or purpose beyond consumption, they haunt the landscape like ghouls. Meanwhile, the abandoned truck stop evokes the remnants of civilization, now just an empty shell inhabited by the undead. On his personal website A Pixelated Point of View, Veenstra described this setting as a “limbo between the stages of death, alive and infected,” suggesting that the zombies are not monsters, but rather the inevitable endpoint of human existence in the apocalypse. The film’s nightmarish atmosphere leaves a lasting impression of dread about both the zombie genre and humanity’s impermanence.
Matteo Bittanti
Works cited
Jordy Veenstra
DUSK
digital video (1280 x 536), color, sound, 45”, 2022, The Netherlands
DUSK’s soundtrack is solely made with SFX from Left 4 Dead 2 (Valve Software, 2009).
Resources and mods:
Left 4 Dead, Valve Software, 2008
Left 4 Dead 2, Valve Software, 2009
Source Filmmaker, Valve Software, 2012
All images and videos © Jordy Veenstra 2022
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